Hawks' Saad doing everything but scoring goals

Teammates say rookie making plenty of important contributions

June 03, 2013|By Brian Hamilton, Chicago Tribune reporter

Brandon Saad will score again at some point, because at some point, pulling off a swim move in full stride around one of the premier defenseman in the NHL deserves more than a stymied shot at the end of it.

So there was the Blackhawks rookie, just about climbing over the Kings' Drew Doughty in Game 2 on Sunday to complete a give-and-go to himself in the offensive zone, zipping an attempt on net that drew both oohs from the crowd and the attention of goalie Jonathan Quick.

Saad may not be finishing anything. But two assists and the nifty move around Doughty suggest the Calder Trophy finalist still is toiling to start something, and that may be enough going into Game 3 on Tuesday.

"Even if you don't get points," Saad said, "if you're on the ice being a plus player and getting that production, you know you're doing something right."

He'll have to cling to that because ultimately Sunday produced another round of Do you think you're close? queries and now-exhausted comparisons to his goal-free streak at the beginning of the regular season.

But helping create two of the Hawks' first three goals in Game 2 can be a template of sorts. Saad has been shifted to the third line, where applying relentless pressure without personally finishing the play can be accepted, and disrupting the other attack carries high value.

"He's one of those players that he doesn't really need to show up on the scoresheet to be effective," winger Patrick Sharp said. "He's such a powerful skater, plays well defensively, creates loose pucks.

"(In Game 2) he stripped a lot of pucks, killed a lot of plays. This time of year, that's really important."

It's another postseason trope: secondary scoring making the difference. If the Hawks' third line is creating chances and goals — as it did Sunday, when Saad found Viktor Stalberg, who found Andrew Shaw streaking in to beat Quick — it may not matter who the goal belongs to.

"It's always nice having your star guys produce, but with that depth, it's huge," Saad said. "They made the switch there and I think our line got better and better every game. Playing together more, talking it through, getting more chemistry, we've been able to build every game."

On Sunday, Saad continued to work hard to build toward something. When that something comes, who knows? But in this current role, the thought can count.

"I thought he had a heck of a game," coach Joel Quenneville said. "He was dangerous, a threat off the rush, had a lot of puck time. Made some nice plays, some nice moves. Play like that really complements our team game."